Decoy



(No Moden.) 2 Smets-sheet 1.

S. CURLIN.

DBGOY.

No. 430,565. Patented June 1'7, 1890.

' 2 Sheets-Sheena S. GURLIN.

(No Model.)

DEGOY..

Patented June 17, 1890.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

SETH CURLIN, OF UNION CITY, TENNESSEE.

DECOY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 430,565, dated J' une 17, 1890.

Application filed January 3, 1h90. Serial No. 335,751. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.:

Be it known that I, SETH CURLIN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Union i City, in the county of Obion and State of Tennessee, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Decoys; and I do hereby declare the following to nbe a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such Aas will enable others skilled in the art towhich it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in decoys, which will be hereinafter fully described.

I-Ieretofore it has been common `to make a decoy of rubber adapted to be inflated by blowing air in the same; butI have found by practical experience that such' decoys are very expensive to manufacture, are not durable, and hence they do not meet with favor from Sportsmen, and in addition to these obj ections the rubber is liable to become cracked 0r broken, which causes the decoy to collapse as the air escapes from the iniiated body, thus lrendering the decoy useless, because the vent cannot be repaired by the owner.

It is the object of my invention to overcome these objections; and the invention consists Iin a decoy as an article of manufacture, made.

of textile material, the parts of which are cut in suitable shape and united together, adapted to be inflated, and having its exterior surface made water-proof and painted in imitation of a suitable fowl, the body of the decoy containing a free liquid-such as oil or a thin paste-which liquid, when diffused over the interior surface of the decoy, and owing to the pressure of the air within the decoy, -is adapted to ll or close up any breaks which may occur in the body of the decoy.

My invention further consists in a decoy having an internal brace or stay, which operates to limit the displacement of the walls of the decoy, and thereby insure proper form or shape to the decoy.

My invention further consists in the peculsecurely united together to produce an airtight decoy capable of being inated or dis- Atended to float on the surface of the water,

liar con struction and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

To enable others to more readily understand my invention, I will now proceed to a detailed description thereof, in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which- `nal sectional View through the decoy.

Figures I, II, and III are views in side elevation, top plan, and bottom plan, respectively, of my improved decoy before it is waterproofed and painted to finish the same.

Fig. 1V is an elevation after the decoy has been finished for use. Fig. V is a longitudi- Fig. VI is a transverse sectional view on the line `:t a; of Fig. IV.

Referring to the drawings, in which like numerals of reference` denote corresponding parts in all the figures, l designates the body of a decoy constructed in accordance with my invention; 2, the neck of the decoy, and 3 the head thereof.

The entire decoy is made of textile material or fabric, rendered water-proof by suitable treatment, and painted in imitation of a certain desired fowl, and in the drawings I have illustrated as an embodiment of my invention a duck; but I do not, of course, restrict myself to this particular kind of fowl. In practice I utilize canvas or similar material as the textile material for making' the decoy; but it is obvious that any kind of cloth or textile fabric can be used without departing from my invention.

As shown in Figs. I and II, the top and bottom of the body of the decoy are made of separate pieces 5 6, andI are cut in suitable shapes to conform to the shape of the fowl it is desired to imitate, and the top and bottom are joined together by side pieces 7, which are preferably sewed to the edges of the top and bottom, thus forming the body of the decoy, the bottom being somewhat longer than `the top and extended at the front end beyond the corresponding end of the top.

The breast, neck, and head of the decoy are made of the two side pieces S 9, the back pieces being united to the body of the decoy. The several pieces of textile fabric are all and the textile fabric is treated with a suitable compound, preferably oil, to render the decoy impervious to water.

The decoy is then painted to closely resemble the fowl it IOO which is highly desirable, whereby the durability of the decoy is promoted, and it-is rendered convenient to pack or store away within a small space without injury.

v By making the decoy of textile fabric and treating the same to render it water-proof and to closely resemble a certain desired fowl 1t can be manufactured at a slight cost, and is more satisfactory to the owner on account of its increased durability, non-liability to become injured, and convenient to handle and store away.

It frequently occurs that cracks or vents.

form in the body of the decoy when it has been in use for some time or subjected to rough usage, and hence the efficiency of the decoy is impaired, because the air escapes from the body and it collapses. I have discovered that by placing a small quantity of live or free liquid-such as oil or a thin paste-in the bodyof the decoy when the latter isiniiated the liquid will close or iill up the vents or crevices formed in the body owing to the pressure of the air within the decoy, and thereby prevent the escape of the air and the consequent collapsing of the decoy.

When a decoy is irst inflated before being placed in the water, any vent or crevice therein will be brought to the attention of the operator by the diminution or reduction of the air-pressure in the decoy, and in some cases the vent can easily be located or found by the escape of the air. The decoy is then reverted and turned in various directions to cause the free live oil or paste to coat the interior surface of the decoy with a thin film of oil, &c., and the escaping air will carry a sufiieient quantity of the free liquid to the vent or crevice to close and seal the same. The

\decoy is now blown up or 4iniiated again, and

the air is compressed as highly as is possible by blowing into the decoy, after which it is in condition for use and can be placed in water.

I prefer to employ a suitable oil for closing the vents under atmospheric pressure in the body of the decoy, because a substance of this nature operates to make the body of the decoy water-proof; but the prime end of closing the vent under the pressure of the air within the body can be accomplished by a thin paste of water and mud, which can be made and supplied by the owner should he be placed in a position where a supply of oil cannot readily be procured.

Within the body of the decoy I arrange a brace or stay l5, which is secured to the walls of the body and operates to limit the displacement of the walls with relation to each other, thus serving to maintain the decoy in good shape and form when it is properly inated. As shown in Figs. III and IV, the brace or stay is arranged longitudinally of the body in the middle thereof, and it extends from the rear end or tail of the body to the front end or neck of the decoy; but this arrangement can be varied or changed-as, for instance, one or more stays may be arranged transversely across the body. The ends or edges of the stays are united to the top and bottom or to the sides of the body of the decoy, and said stay is made of 'textile fabric, so that the decoy can be compactly folded.

The decoy is iniiated by blowing air into the same through an air-valve 16, which depends from the bottom of the body at a suitable point. This valve is made of metal, and

it passes through the body, to which it isl united by means lof the flanges 17 and a metallic washer 19, which are headed down upon the bottom wall of the body. This nozzle depends from the decoy, so that ready access can be had thereto for inflating the decoy, and the upper end of the nozzle extends within the body of the decoy for a suitable distance above the bottom thereof to prevent the free liquid from entering` the nozzle when the decoy is in an upright position. The air-valve is closed by means of a plug 19', as shown, which can be readily manipulated to open or close the valve.

The operation and advantages of myinvention will be readily understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art to which it relates from the foregoing description, taken in connection. with the drawings.

I am aware that changes in the form and proportion of parts and details of construction, as well as in the materials or substances herein specified, can be made without departing from the spirit or sacrificing the advantages of my invention, and I would therefore have it understood that I reserve the right to make suchchanges and substitutions as fall within the scope of my invention.

Having thusl fully described my invention, whatI claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. As a new article of manufacture,abuoy ant decoy constructed of textile material cut in suitable shape and united together, said decoy being rendered water-proof and painted in imitation of a desired fowl, the body of the decoy containing a free liquid, which, owing to the pressure of the air within the decoy, is adapted to 1ill or close any crevices or vents which may occur in the decoy, substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a hollow buoyant decoy containing a Vfree liquid, substantially as described, which, when diffused over the interior surface of the same, is adapted, owing to the pressure of the air IOC within the decoy, to fill up or close a crevice or vent which may occur in the decoy, as set forth.

3. As a new article of manufacture, a hollow decoy having an internal brace adapted to limit the displacement of the Walls of the decoy, for the purpose described, substantially as set forth.

4. As a new article of manufacture, a hollow decoy provided with an internal brace, which is arranged longitudinally of the same and united at the edges or ends to opposite walls of the decoy, substantially as and for the purpose described.

5. As a new article of manufacture,abuoyant decoy constructed of textile fabric, the body of which is composed of the top, bottom, and side pieces, which are suitably united together, the head, neck, and breast of said decoy being composed of the side pieces, the front piece, and back piece, which are united together and to the body, substantially as herein shown and described.

G. As a new article of manufacture, a hollow buoyant decoy having a depending airvalve, which is secured to the bottom of the decoy, the upper end of said air-valve being extended vertically into the body of the decoy and for a suitable distance above the bottom of the same, for the purpose described, substantially as set forth. H

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

SETH CURTAIN.

Vtnesses:

SAML. R. BRA'rToN, J. M. ORMLEY. 

